Europe + Voodoo Johnson @ Birmingham Academy, 18 February 2011
Now I may have been under the misapprehension that attending a Europe show would do nothing more than satiate a need for nostalgia. Though much to my surprise, in reality I had inadvertently stumbled upon a gem of a support act and a treasure trove of Europe material that I barely knew existed.
How on earth opening band Voodoo Johnson had managed to slip under my radar unnoticed, I will never know. This quintet, based right under my nose here in Birmingham, might just be the next band to make it to the heady heights of stardom and global glory — they have a great stage presence, with steadfast guitar graft from Carl Gethin, the velvety vocals of Nik Taylor-Stoakes (reminiscent of the strength and style of Eddie Vedder) and a powerful portfolio of songs.
With their moody new single ‘Black Skies Mist’ and the well-rounded meaty offerings of ‘Bad Habit’ and ‘Seven Years’ it is easy to see why this band is starting to make waves in the rock music world. They are truly one of the most talented new bands I have seen on the circuit in recent years.
When Europe emerged to the amazingly atmospheric ‘Prelude’ immediately followed by ‘Last Look at Eden’ it dawned on me I had somehow missed out on a golden period in this group’s history. I willingly admit I am an eighties era fan, having little knowledge of their offerings since re-forming in 2003 — yet it is clear all the things I loved about them in the eighties have been updated to form a more mature, modernised but still instantly recognisable Europe sound.
What followed was a fantastic set spanning most of the band’s back-catalogue, with the crowd lapping up the classics – ‘Rock The Night’, ‘Scream of Anger’, ‘Carrie’, ‘Superstitious’ – then equally effusing over contemporary numbers ‘The Beast’, ‘Love is Not the Enemy’, ‘The Getaway Plan’ and ‘Seventh Sign’. It meant no matter when you became a fan, there was something for everyone.
Admittedly, if there was anything not spot on about tonight’s performance it may have been the occasional awkward pause between songs which made it not so slick a set as it could have been….but most certainly due to a very disappointing turn out in attendance — the venue was nowhere near full — which is where I feel it lost some of the edge it may well have had with a room rammed to the rafters with punters.
Conversely though, there were some notable moments including a drum solo by Ian Haugland, pulsating proudly along to Rossini’s ‘William Tell Overture: Finale’ and a wonderfully poignant part where Joey Tempest stated “Gary Moore, this one is for you” where John Norum effortlessly executed a rendition of Gary Moore’s ‘The Loner’.
Overall, Europe accomplished a perfectly polished, varied and vibrant set throughout and as they surfaced once again for the encore, kicking off with new song ‘Doghouse’, I had a sense of new found respect for their longevity — well put by Nik Taylor-Stoakes earlier in the evening when he said “these guys have been gigging even longer than we have been alive” — it made we wonder what the future held for these bastions of rock…all I knew for sure is that inevitably the evening would come to a close with perhaps one of the most well known rock number of the 80’s – ‘The Final Countdown’.
Set List
1. Prelude — Mic Michaeli keyboard instrumental
2. Last Look at Eden
3. The Beast
4. Rock The Night
5. Scream of Anger
6. No Stone Unturned
7. The Getaway Plan
8. Gary Moore’s The Loner — John Norum guitar solo
9. Seventh Sign
10. New Love in Town
11. Love is Not The Enemy
12. More Than Meets the Eye
13. Rossini — William Tell Overture: Finale — Ian Haugland’s drum solo
14. Always the Pretenders
15. Start from the Dark
16. Superstitious
Encore
17. Brand new song — Dog House
18. The Final Countdown
Review – Amanda Jones
Photos – Ian Dunn